2 Charged with stealing $20K intended for Ford Heights Church

Allis Franklin,(Left) and Horace Brownfield were ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bail after being charged with stealing $20,300 intended for Ford Heights church.

Allis Franklin,(Left) and Horace Brownfield were ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bail after being charged with stealing $20,300 intended for Ford Heights church. (Cook County Sheriff Dept.)

Carlos SadoviTribune reporter

Two men had been ordered held in lieu of $200,000 bail after they were charged with taking a $20,300 loan intended for a Ford Heights church and spending it, police said.

Allis Franklin, 66, and Horace Brownfield, 63, appeared seperately in Cook County court in Markham where they were both ordered held in lieu of bail, according to a press release issued by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

Police allege that in August, Franklin helped the True Light Missionary Baptist Church apply for a Small Business Administration loan to pay for the repairs of its building, officials said.

In November, Franklin and Brownfield went to a Chicago Heights bank and filled out paperwork for a resolution of corporation and represented themselves as officers of the church, Dart said.

The resolution allowed the men to open accounts, make deposits and withdrawls, Dart said. The SBA loan of $20,300 was deposited into the account, unbeknownst to church officials.

After the deposit, the two men withdrew the entire amount and spent the money on their personal use, Dart said.

After the pastor contacted the SBA church officials were told that the money had already been deposited and Sheriff's police launced the investigation in December.